| First Author | Robert G | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Autophagy | Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 637-49 |
| PubMed ID | 22498477 | Mgi Jnum | J:347308 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7622112 | Doi | 10.4161/auto.19084 |
| Citation | Robert G, et al. (2012) The anti-apoptotic Bcl-B protein inhibits BECN1-dependent autophagic cell death. Autophagy 8(4):637-49 |
| abstractText | Bcl-2 family members are key modulators of apoptosis that have recently been shown to also regulate autophagy. It has been previously reported that Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) bind and inhibit BECN1, an essential mediator of autophagy. Bcl-B is an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family that possesses the four BH (Bcl-2 homology) domains (BH1, BH2, BH3 and BH4) and a predicted C-terminal trans-membrane domain. Although the anti-apoptotic properties of Bcl-B are well characterized, its physiological function remains to be established. In the present study, we first established that Bcl-B interacts with the BH3 domain of BECN1. We also showed that Bcl-B overexpression reduces autophagy triggered by a variety of pro-autophagic stimuli. This impairment of autophagy was closely related to the capacity of Bcl-B to bind to BECN1. Importantly, we have demonstrated that Bcl-B knockdown triggers autophagic cell death and sensitizes cells to amino acid starvation. The cell death induced by Bcl-B knockdown was partially dependent on components of the autophagy machinery (LC3; BECN1; ATG5). These findings reveal a new role of Bcl-B in the regulation of autophagy. |
